Harvey Weinstein Granted A Second Hearing At New York High Court

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein, a former movie producer, has been granted permission by New York‘s highest court to appeal his conviction for rape and sexual assault, giving Weinstein a slim chance of getting a new trial.

In a letter dated Monday and addressed to Weinstein’s attorneys, the court stated that Chief Judge Janet DiFiore “approved leave to appeal” on August 19. Reuters reviewed the document on Wednesday.

Further rape allegations against him in California are unrelated to the letter, which did not specify any potential justifications for the choice.

The court can uphold Harvey Weinstein’s conviction or mandate a new trial after considering the arguments made by his attorneys and the prosecution. A lower appeals court confirmed the verdict last June, rejecting claims that the Manhattan trial judge committed multiple mistakes that compromised the proceedings.

Harvey Weinstein Maintains That He Is Innocent

The threshold for granting a new trial is high, but after speaking with his client in prison, Weinstein was “relieved by this decision,” according to one of his attorneys, Arthur Aidala. “He believes that the court will overturn his conviction and declare that he was not given a fair trial. Additionally, he continued to claim his innocence, “added Aidala.

The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, which accused sexual abuse at the highest levels of America, entertainment, and the media, made Weinstein, 70, a Hollywood media mogul who produced “Pulp Fiction,” “Shakespeare in Love,” and “Gangs of New York,” one of their most prominent targets. A Manhattan jury held Weinstein responsible for raping a former would-be actress and sexually abusing a production assistant in February 2020. A judge gave him a 23-year prison term.

After being extradited to California this year, Harvey Weinstein is currently incarcerated there as he awaits his trial on 11 allegations of misbehavior toward five women between 2004 and 2013. In Los Angeles, Weinstein has entered a not-guilty plea to allegations of rape and sexual abuse.